Renault Investors Vote 54% Against CEO's Pay for 2015
April 29 2016 - 1:16PM
Dow Jones News
By Nick Kostov
PARIS--The French state Friday led a rejection by Renault SA
shareholders of the compensation package for Chief Executive Carlos
Ghosn, the latest pushback against executive pay in France.
More than 54% of shareholders voted against Mr. Ghosn's pay
package of 7.3 million euro ($8.3 million) in 2015 at its annual
general meeting in Paris. A total of 45.9% approved the package,
while less than 1% abstained.
The vote is nonbinding, however, and Renault's board will meet
Friday evening to discuss the best course of action, a Renault
spokesman said. Mr. Ghosn's pay was flat last year after almost
tripling in 2014.
The French state is Renault's largest shareholder after
increasing its stake to 19.7% from 15% last year. Government
figures including Prime Minister Manuel Valls and Finance Minister
Michel Sapin also criticized PSA Peugeot Citroen CEO Carlos Tavares
last month after his pay almost doubled to 5.3 billion euros for
2015 as a reward for his efforts in turning around the company.
The French government regularly opposes compensation packages
for executives in companies in which it holds stakes.
Renault reported a 12% increase in revenue earlier this month as
strong European demand helped offset declining demand in emerging
markets.
Write to Nick Kostov at nick.kostov@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 29, 2016 13:01 ET (17:01 GMT)
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